


Blackbird

by kyjr



Category: Japanese Drama, Johnny's Entertainment, KAT-TUN (Band)
Genre: Drama Crossover, Fluff, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-16
Updated: 2013-10-16
Packaged: 2017-12-29 13:22:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1005927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kyjr/pseuds/kyjr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tsune finds Akamatsu a new model - a new, <i>male</i> model. Akamatsu isn't entirely sure what to make of this, until he meets him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Blackbird

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [](http://pautami.livejournal.com/profile)[**pautami**](http://pautami.livejournal.com/) for the [](http://help-pilipinas.livejournal.com/profile)[](http://help-pilipinas.livejournal.com/)**help_pilipinas** fundraiser.

"I've got you a new model," Tsune declared, startling Akamatsu.

"Now look what you made me do..." he muttered under his breath, staring at the smear of blue paint on the canvas. He sighed and reached for his teatowel, ready to try and wipe it off, before Tsune's words hit him. "Wait, you did _what_?" he asked, turning on his stool to stare at the girl.

She nodded once, sharply. "You need a new model. A male model."

Akamatsu spluttered. "What? No I don't! Izumi-san is fine--"

But Tsune was shaking her head, her straight hair flying about her face. "Izumi has a cold," she said, her harsh eyes drilling into Akamatsu, and he shrunk back a little. "I'm not letting her out of her apartment for the next two weeks until she's better. I shouldn't have let her out in that rain to begin with." She pointed towards the window, where rain was splattering heavily onto the glass.

"Well... I'm sure we can all try and come up with something," Akamatsu tried, but Tsune was turning on her heel and marching away from him.

"No."

Akamatsu sighed, setting his paintbrush down and taking his glasses off, pressing his fingers to his eyes. He didn't want a new model - he didn't _need_ a new model. He liked to paint Izumi. She was a wonderful model... when she wasn't in ridiculous clothing.

And why did he need a male model?

He slid his glasses back onto his face and stared at his painting. It was just of a basket of fruit, nothing too exciting - he had been waiting for Izumi for the past four hours but she had never shown up. Now he knew why.

Akamatsu scratched his head as he made his way into the kitchenette. As the water boiled for his cup of tea, he wondered briefly where Tsune had disappeared to, coming to the conclusion that she was probably already back at Izumi's side.

He made a quick sandwich of ham and cheese, and sat down to enjoy it with his tea. It was all too quiet without the usual noise of the others, and all he could hear was the rain outside and his own chewing in his ears. He sighed again, resting his head on his hand as he sipped at his tea, staring at the table. It was all very boring really, without the others to keep him occupied.

He jumped when Tsune barged in again, the door swinging closed behind her. "What--"

"Here," she said, dragging a rather haggard-looking man behind her. "I found him."

Akamatsu gaped. Tsune practically threw the man forward into the middle of the room, where he stood awkwardly and gave Akamatsu a small smile. He was drenched; droplets of water fell from his short black hair and down onto his thin shirt. He was shivering visibly, his arms crossed in front of his chest to try to maintain some warmth. "Hi," he murmured. "It's raining out there."

Tsune clucked her tongue. "Offer him a towel!" she yelled, and Akamatsu was moving before he knew it, leaving the two in the kitchen and searching for a towel. He found one eventually and headed back out to the others. When he got there, however, Tsune was gone, and only the stranger was left.

"Um." The man turned around at the sound of Akamatsu's voice and smiled in relief.

"Thank you so much," he said, taking the towel from Akamatsu and rubbing his hair.

Akamatsu shook his head. "Where did Tsune go?"

"Tsune?"

"The-- The girl with the hair and the pointing," he tried to explain.

"Oh," the man said, continuing to dry his hair - he had paused when Akamatsu had started talking. "She said something about taking care of someone...?"

"Oh, right."

There was silence, until the man stretched his hand out to grab Akamatsu's. "I'm Ueda Tatsuya," he said, smiling.

Akamatsu stared a little. "Akamatsu Keisuke," he answered eventually, shaking the other man's hand.

"I like your glasses."

And so that was how they began. Ueda was from Tokyo - born in Yokohama but raised in Okinawa - and was new to the area. He used to play the piano for a small cafe around the corner from his apartment but that had fallen through and so he decided to move to wherever he pointed on the map of Japan. After he moved, he needed a job, and that was when Tsune appeared, thrusting a flier into his face. "I'm not exactly sure... how to be a model," he admitted, shrugging a little and smiling apologetically. "What do you need me to do?" he asked, moving to wipe at the water running down his neck. "Akamatsu-sensei?"

But Akamatsu-sensei had stopped listening halfway through, all of his attention on the way Ueda moved. He watched as the rain ran down his skin, down his neck to his collarbones; watched as Ueda moved his head back just the slightest to wipe at the water. He watched Ueda's throat move as he spoke.

"Akamatsu-sensei?" Ueda repeated, moving forward slightly, touching Akamatsu on the wrist.

"Oh! Sorry!" Akamatsu laughed - he knew he failed at hiding how forced it was due to Ueda's raised eyebrow - and bowed his head a little. "What were you saying?"

"I was asking you what I needed to do," Ueda repeated, a tiny smile forming on his face. "Did you want your towel back?"

 

>>><<<

 

Akamatsu liked Ueda. He was a nice guy.

They started off easy, with Ueda just sitting on Izumi's usual seat. Akamatsu perched on his usual stool with his sketchbook and a charcoal pencil, his fingers already itching to draw. He had really only drawn Izumi for the past few months; this new model provided a new challenge. He was so different from Izumi; his shoulders were strong, his jawline set in a determined expression. His gaze was both hard and soft, and Akamatsu found that he wanted - no, _needed_ to try to capture those expressions.

Ueda had this soft voice that seemed to go right through him, and somehow he wanted to etch that voice onto the paper too, wanted to capture what Ueda was.

There are times when Akamatsu draws and paints because he has to. And there are times when Akamatsu puts pen to paper and draws because he _can_ , and this is one of those times. His pencil flowed across the paper, over and over and over again, the scratches of the charcoal against the coarse paper the only sound in the room when Ueda was quiet.

"Are you alright?" Akamatsu asked, looking up briefly. Ueda nodded.

"I'm fine." Akamatsu quickly went back to his sketch, making sure he got the curve of Ueda's jaw just right. "It's a little funny being observed so closely though."

Akamatsu paused. "Sorry, did you want me to stop?"

"No, that wasn't what I meant," Ueda laughed, and Akamatsu was back to his drawings before he knew it, needing to draw that spark in Ueda's eye when he laughed. "You're funny," Ueda said, and Akamatsu stopped again, the charcoal poised just above the paper.

"Eh?"

"Well, you are," Ueda mumbled, shifting on the chair. "Are you done yet?"

Akamatsu was just drawing a bunch of different sketches, trying to see if Ueda would work as a model or not. He had five pages already, so he supposed they could stop for now. "Yeah," he answered, moving to close the book but Ueda was there, eagerly tugging it out of his hands. "What're you doing?" he asked, pulling it back towards himself.

"I wanna see the product of my first modelling job," Ueda laughed, pulling a little harder. "Please?"

"Fine," Akamatsu sighed, turning away as Ueda flipped through the pages, trying to find the right ones. "I'll make tea."

Akamatsu tapped the counter impatiently as the water boiled, feeling torn about his drawings. He didn't know why he didn't want Ueda to see them. He was quite confident in his ability, even more so now that Jin-sensei had asked him to take over his class, and he never had problems before about showing people his skill.

"These are awe--" Ueda started, rushing into the room at full-speed and crashing head-first into Akamatsu's shoulder. Akamatsu wound an arm around him quickly to steady the both of them, staring down at him in shock. "These are awesome," Ueda finished with a beaming smile, and Akamatsu's breath caught in his throat.

He took a step back and busied himself with the tea. "Oh?"

Akamatsu didn't see Ueda roll his eyes. "I don't know much about art, but these are... wow."

"Are you sure that's not just because you're in them?" Akamatsu asked before he could stop it. Ueda tilted his head, eyebrows furrowed.

"I don't know you all that well yet, but that won't stop me from punching you in the face," Ueda deadpanned, turning to sit upon the counter and flip through the sketchbook again. Akamatsu paled. "I box," Ueda explained without looking up. "I could break those glasses in a snap."

"Good to know."

 

>>><<<

 

Ueda took a liking to a sketch Akamatsu had done years ago. It was of a tiny little bird, it's feathers black and blue and cream, sitting on a perch with it's tail up in the air. Akamatsu had no idea why Ueda liked it so much; he could see every little thing wrong with the drawing. The lines of it's beak were too long, and it's feet weren't quite right. Akamatsu remembered going over and over those lines to try and get it perfect before he gave up, leaving it as just another unsuccessful drawing.

"I just like it," Ueda said simply, tracing the edges of the paper with his fingers.

 

>>><<<

 

His first nude modelling session was embarrassing for the both of them.

Ueda walked in as normal, his bag slung over his shoulder. Akamatsu had dragged it out as long as he could but they really had to keep progressing, and had said so to Ueda the day before yesterday. Ueda had laughed then, but right now he looked a little nervous.

"What do you...?" Ueda started, his eyes darting about the place, waiting for Akamatsu to finish.

"You can get changed in the bathroom; there's a robe already there for you," Akamatsu said, a little robotically. He had rehearsed what to say in the mirror that morning to the point where it was perfect and flawless. At least, that's what he had hoped. Ueda cocked his head to the side, a grin on his face.

"You're as nervous as I am," he said, and Akamatsu rushed to deny it.

"Not at all! I'm used to it!" he said, but Ueda just raised an eyebrow and disappeared into the bathroom. Akamatsu supposed he should finish setting up.

He had his pencils and his acrylics where they always were, next to his easel. His canvas was in the other room so he went to fetch it, running his fingers over the different sizes of canvases stacked up next to each other. He chose a tall one, with a thick frame and decent width, and carried it back to the other room.

Ueda was already there, white fluffy robe tight around his body. "You look as nervous as I feel," he laughed, as Akamatsu turned bright red. "We'll be okay though."

Akamatsu nodded as he set his canvas up, smoothing his hands over it a final time before settling onto his stool. He looked over at Ueda, who was still standing there awkwardly. "Um."

"Oh, now?" Ueda asked, and Akamatsu nodded.

Akamatsu was prepared to turn away or close his eyes if Ueda needed him to, but he didn't ask, and Akamatsu's body refused to move. Ueda slowly untied the cord holding his robe together, letting it fall to the floor. It was all too graceful, Akamatsu thought, as the robe fell down Ueda's shoulders, slowly exposing his skin. His back was towards Akamatsu in a last-minute desire for some form of privacy, and Akamatsu found himself staring at the muscles under Ueda's skin as he moved to rid himself of the robe.

Akamatsu ducked behind the canvas as the robe fell past Ueda's hips.

"Where do you want me?" Ueda asked, and Akamatsu took a deep breath before answering.

"On the couch," he said, knowing that he was going to have to look at his model at some point.

"Like this?"

Akamatsu took another breath before looking. Ueda was lying on the couch with his back to him. "I'd like to see your face," Akamatsu practically breathed, but Ueda heard it in the quiet room, sitting up a little to face him.

"Oh..." Ueda began turning but no, that wasn't right either.

"Stop," Akamatsu called softly, and Ueda paused.

"Did I do something wrong?"

Akamatsu didn't answer. He stood, wiping his sweaty hands on his pants before moving slowly across the room, Ueda's eyes following his every movement. He lightly took hold of Ueda's arm, guiding him back to the couch. He was on his back, the blanket from the couch covering him just so. "Yeah," Akamatsu breathed, "That's better."

Ueda gave him a smile, looking up at him with those eyes of his. "Okay."

Ueda was breathtaking.

Akamatsu quickly turned, closing his eyes for the briefest second to try to calm his rapidly pounding heart. Once he was back on his stool he was more collected, quickly moving to take hold of a pencil. "I'll need you to stay pretty still for a while, is that alright?" Akamatsu asked, already sketching the outlines of Ueda's body.

"It's fine."

Whenever Akamatsu looked up from the canvas to copy the lines of Ueda's form, Ueda was gazing back at him. It was a little unnerving, especially with the way his heart skipped a beat whenever their eyes met. He stopped sketching, closing his eyes again and taking a deep breath before continuing.

"Are you alright over there, sensei?" Ueda asked, his voice low. Akamatsu looked over to him, and suddenly the mood changed. Suddenly, there was no art studio, no easel, no canvas. Suddenly there was just the two of them, and it hit Akamatsu in a whirlwind of emotions.

"I'm fine," he said slowly.

Maybe. Maybe Tsune was right.

Akamatsu carefully drew every line, every shape. His pencil flowed over Ueda's form, over his jaw, over his waist, over his neck. There was a strange sense of intimacy that etched itself into the drawing, and Akamatsu found that all he wanted to do was touch the person he was drawing. His hands itched with the need to run over Ueda's body, to feel those muscles and that skin. To map out Ueda's body for himself.

Ueda was still looking at him.

"You can move a little now," Akamatsu said, coughing when his voice came out husky. "Not too much, but you can."

Ueda smiled and shifted his legs into a more comfortable position. "Is that okay?" he asked, and Akamatsu nodded without looking, paying more attention to choosing the right colours to start the painting. He ran a thick paintbrush between his fingers, nodding again and dipping the paintbrush into the red, then the blue, then the yellow. His palette was already a mess of old dried paint but he didn't care, mixing the paint atop of it all.

He started with blocking out the colour, great big slabs of colour here and there; red for the couch, a light brown for Ueda's skin. As he worked, he changed paintbrushes, smaller and smaller and smaller until he was leaning forward, nose almost touching the canvas as he worked, trying to get every tiny detail that he could.

Ueda was still looking at him.

Akamatsu held his breath as he looked up into Ueda's eyes, earning a little smile from the other. "Is it going okay?" he asked, and Akamatsu nodded, twisting his paintbrush just so. He never liked to talk whilst he painted, but with all the others around he had to. Today, it was okay to be quiet. Ueda seemed to get it too, resting back.

But. But... "What're you thinking about?" Akamatsu asked, surprising himself.

"Nothing much," Ueda replied. "Daydreaming."

Akamatsu nodded, going back to painting Ueda's hair. He left his face for last. The light hit Ueda's face just right, nice soft shadows falling over his features beautifully. His eyes were bright and just a little hazy as he daydreamed.

The painting was finished in hours.

"Can I see it?" Ueda asked, wrapping the robe around his body once Akamatsu had told him that it was okay.

"Yeah, sure."

Ueda laughed when he saw it, and Akamatsu pouted. "No, I'm sorry--" Ueda grabbed at Akamatsu's arms as he tried to stand. "Really, I'm sorry--"

"It's okay," Akamatsu said, a little coldly. "People always laugh at my paintings when they like it."

"Sarcasm doesn't suit you," Ueda said, refusing to let go of Akamatsu's arms. "And I like the painting. I just laughed because... well, it's kind of awkward to see myself like that," he admitted, and his cheeks turned a little redder. "Is that how you see me?" he asked later, leaning forward to see it closer.

Akamatsu wasn't sure how to answer, so he remained silent. Ueda didn't seem to mind.

Tsune later said it was one of the best paintings he had done.

 

>>><<<

 

"Here."

"What is it?" Ueda asked, curious.

"Just take it," Akamatsu said, feeling a little nervous as he watched Ueda's face. He turned the little package over in his hands, looking up at Akamatsu.

"But what is it?"

Akamatsu laughed. "Open it!"

So Ueda did, his expression changing into surprise. "Oh-- really? This is for me?" Ueda asked, astonished as he held up the frame. It was only small - the sketch Ueda had admired of the little black bird was only small to begin with. "You finished it," Ueda breathed, running his fingers over the glass protecting the picture.

"Yeah," Akamatsu muttered, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "You really seemed to like it, so..." Akamatsu trailed off as he looked up, seeing the sheer gratitude in Ueda's eyes. "...You okay?"

Ueda bit his lip and set the frame down on the table carefully. "I'm going to do something that is probably very stupid right now," Ueda murmured, and Akamatsu gulped.

"Er--"

Ueda was stepping forward and sliding his hand up Akamatsu's chest, making the breath catch in Akamatsu's throat. His hand went around to the back of Akamatsu's neck, lightly stroking the skin at the base of his neck as he stared into his eyes. Ueda really did have lovely eyes, the most beautiful shade of brown; flecks of black, almost amber in this light.

"I can't breathe," Akamatsu found himself whispering, and Ueda's eyes danced with laughter.

"Neither can I," Ueda murmured, and leant forward, slowly sliding Akamatsu's glasses off his face and placing them onto the table carefully.

Ueda's kisses were like fire. Akamatsu's arms came up to press Ueda closer, his warmth seeping through to Akamatsu and making him shiver. He kissed back cautiously, drawing a sigh from Ueda. His hands moved from his back to Ueda's waist, rubbing circles into the skin at the top of his jeans, and he could feel Ueda's body shudder against him. Ueda's hands moved to frame Akamatsu's face, bringing him closer and closer, pressing kisses to his jaw.

"Ueda," Akamatsu murmured, his hands finding their way under Ueda's shirt, finally feeling that warm skin. "Tatsuy--"

Ueda kissed him so hard that it almost hurt. "Oh that sounded nice," he muttered against Akamatsu's lips, kissing him again, deeper, more desperate than before. Akamatsu could all but keep up, maneuvering them so the small of Ueda's back was resting against the table in the kitchenette, trapped between the table and Akamatsu's body. Ueda moaned into Akamatsu's mouth and suddenly Akamatsu just needed him, _needed_ to feel him, needed to run his hands up and down his naked body, needed to hear more sounds from him.

"Akamatsu," Ueda moaned, and Akamatsu groaned against the skin at his neck. "No-- stop."

"What?" Akamatsu asked, surprised. He didn't want to stop, Ueda's body felt so good against his, but-- "What're you looking a-- Oh."

"No, please, continue," Tsune drawled from behind him, her arms crossed. "It's not like the rest of us eat from that table or anything."

Ueda leant his forehead against Akamatsu's shoulder as the other stared. "I-- no! We weren't-- We weren't going to do _that_!" Akamatsu spluttered. Ueda chuckled.

"Yeah, we were," he murmured, and Akamatsu wasn't entirely sure Tsune heard him. "That's where I was headed, anyhow."

"You're red," Tsune pointed out bluntly, and Akamatsu shook his head.

"Get out!"

"Fine," Tsune said, moving to grab something from the kitchen. "I just came here to get this for Izumi."

Then she was gone and Ueda was kissing his shoulder, dragging his teeth up to behind Akamatsu's ear. "So... can we continue where we left off?" he asked, his voice going right through Akamatsu's body.

And there were hundreds of answers running through his mind, many different scenarios playing out in his head. He was scared - terrified, really - and his mind was running a mile a minute, trying to keep up with everything, and he wasn't su--

"Yes."

 

\--the end


End file.
